Verb–subject–object

In language typology are VSO languages ​​( verb - subject-object languages) those languages ​​in which verb, subject and object normally occur in that order.

In languages ​​like German, there are similar sequences, ie verb - initial sentences for certain record types, eg yes / no questions: Do you have beer there? VSO languages ​​, are characterized by the fact that the VSO sequence is the normal case, ie, found in both declarative and interrogative sentences and in both main and subordinate clauses. Many VSO languages ​​also allow SVO position as a common variant.

Examples of natural languages ​​of the type VSO are the West Semitic languages ​​( including Arabic ), the insular Celtic languages ​​(including Irish, Welsh ) and many Austronesian languages, such as Hawaiian or Chamorro. In classical Arabic it is the preferred word order; in Biblical Hebrew also was VSO, while valid, the order SVO in modern Hebrew ( Ivrit ).

While the word order of SVO and SOV types are most common by far, VSO is considered the most common among the other sub-type. The database of the World Atlas of Language Structures include in a random sample of 1377 95 for Type VSO languages ​​(ie 6.9%).